--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup…" description: "\"Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.\" — Edna St. Vincent Millay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_cups_life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a_3203929.jpg" --- # Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of… ![“Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.” quote by Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_cups_life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a_3203929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_cups_life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a_3203929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_cups_life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a_3203929.jpg) > “Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.” [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a void awaiting meaning; we must fill it with purpose rather than drifting aimlessly. **In simple terms:** Life is an empty cup needing purpose. Key Takeaway Fill life with meaning. Themes existential meaning purpose Mood contemplative inspirational Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - career direction - creative projects - spiritual practice - daily routines Key Concepts existentialism poetry Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How can you turn emptiness into opportunity? A Different Perspective Finding purpose can be overwhelming without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empty cup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty-cup/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Life in itself / Is nothing, / An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs. / It is not enough that yearly, down this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a-flight-of-uncarpeted-stairs/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [May you get more out of life than a cup of tea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-st-james/may-you-get-more-out-of-life-than-a-cup-of-tea/) [Rebecca St. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-st-james/) > [In order to taste my cup of water you must first empty your cup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/in-order-to-taste-my-cup-of-water-you-must-first-empty-your-cup/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I found myself face to face with a long line of people resembling extras off the set of Night of the Living Dead: shuffling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-frank/i-found-myself-face-to-face-with-a-long-line-of-people-resembling/) [Joan Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-frank/) > [People give me money and I don't know why, my real collection plate is an empty cup held by a homeless guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/people-give-me-money-and-i-don-t-know-why-my-real-collection-plate-is/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) > [Do not let the empty cup be your first teacher of the blessings you had when it was full. Do not let a bard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/do-not-let-the-empty-cup-be-your-first-teacher-of-the-blessings-you/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Spring TO what purpose, April, do you return again? Beauty is not enough. You can no longer quiet me with the redness Of little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/spring-to-what-purpose-april-do-you-return-again-beauty-is-not-enough/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“take life one cup at a time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rina-suryakusuma/take-life-one-cup-at-a-time/) [Rina Suryakusuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rina-suryakusuma/) > [I have the ability, no matter what's going on in my life, to find something - my cup is always half full.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-have-the-ability-no-matter-what-s-going-on-in-my-life-to-find/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [“For me, it's too late, Don't suffer my fate. I once walked the earth Inert to life's worth. Routine, my shield, I loathed foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaaa/for-me-it-s-too-late-don-t-suffer-my-fate-i-once-walked-the-earth/) AAAA > [We need to be angels for each other, to give each other strength and consolation. Because only when we fully realize that the cup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-need-to-be-angels-for-each-other-to-give-each-other-strength-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is a cup of tea; the more heartily we drink the sooner we reach the dregs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-barrie/life-is-a-cup-of-tea-the-more-heartily-we-drink-the-sooner-we-reach/) [James M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-barrie/) > [“I am thinking that there is “a lot of sugar in the bottom of life’s cup” if I am willing to keep on learning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guideposts/i-am-thinking-that-there-is-a-lot-of-sugar-in-the-bottom-of-life-s/) Guideposts > [A Poem from Edna St. Vincent Millay: Grown-up Was it for this I uttered prayers, And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/a-poem-from-edna-st-vincent-millay-grown-up-was-it-for-this-i-uttered/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“A wise man knows how little he knows and upon his death he drinks wisdom from an empty cup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tarttelin/a-wise-man-knows-how-little-he-knows-and-upon-his-death-he-drinks/) John Tarttelin ## More by Edna St. Vincent Millay > [Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/into-the-darkness-they-go-the-wise-and-the-lovely/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [There are a hundred places where I fear To go, --so with his memory they brim! And entering with relief some quiet place Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/there-are-a-hundred-places-where-i-fear-to-go-so-with-his-memory-they/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [The first rose on my rose-tree Budded, bloomed, and shattered, During sad days when to me Nothing mattered. Grief or grief has drained me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/the-first-rose-on-my-rose-tree-budded-bloomed-and-shattered-during/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [A Poem from Edna St. Vincent Millay: Grown-up Was it for this I uttered prayers, And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs, That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/a-poem-from-edna-st-vincent-millay-grown-up-was-it-for-this-i-uttered/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [She is happy where she lies With the dust upon her eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/she-is-happy-where-she-lies-with-the-dust-upon-her-eyes/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [And reaching up my hand to try, I screamed to feel it touch the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/and-reaching-up-my-hand-to-try-i-screamed-to-feel-it-touch-the-sky/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“And you as well must die, beloved dust, And all your beauty stand you in no stead; This flawless, vital hand, this perfect head,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/and-you-as-well-must-die-beloved-dust-and-all-your-beauty-stand-you/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Oh, children, growing up to be Adventurers into sophistry, Forbear, forbear to be of those That read the rood to learn the rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/oh-children-growing-up-to-be-adventurers-into-sophistry-forbear/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [After the feet of beauty fly my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/after-the-feet-of-beauty-fly-my-own/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Some of us have been thinking and talking too long without doing anything. Poems are perfect; picketing, sometimes, is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/some-of-us-have-been-thinking-and-talking-too-long-without-doing/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“But, sure, the sky is big, I said; Miles and miles above my head; So here upon my back I'll lie And look my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/but-sure-the-sky-is-big-i-said-miles-and-miles-above-my-head-so-here/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [pity me that the heart is slow to learn what the swift mind beholds at every turn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/pity-me-that-the-heart-is-slow-to-learn-what-the-swift-mind-beholds/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Youth, have no pity; leave no farthing here For age to invest in compromise and fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/youth-have-no-pity-leave-no-farthing-here-for-age-to-invest-in/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [My god is all gods in one. When I see a beautiful sunset, I worship the god of Nature; when I see a hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/my-god-is-all-gods-in-one-when-i-see-a-beautiful-sunset-i-worship-the/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [“Tea was sucha comfort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/tea-was-sucha-comfort/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) [Explore all 260 Edna St. Vincent Millay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) ## More Cups quotes > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [I put hibiscus flower in every cup of tea I have. It's sweet, sexy, and cleansing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-batali/i-put-hibiscus-flower-in-every-cup-of-tea-i-have-it-s-sweet-sexy-and/) [Mario Batali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-batali/) > [Nobody can have your psychedelic experience for you; you just have to screw your courage up and raise the cup to your lips or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-mckenna/nobody-can-have-your-psychedelic-experience-for-you-you-just-have-to/) [Dennis McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-mckenna/) > [Youre always going to have some individual incidents that arent going to show off the Ryder Cup in the true form and spirit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kite/youre-always-going-to-have-some-individual-incidents-that-arent-going/) [Tom Kite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kite/) > [I wasn’t like, boo hoo, Bin Laden’s dead, but I wasn’t jumping. America’s a very nationalistic country, and in episodes like that of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scahill/i-wasn-t-like-boo-hoo-bin-laden-s-dead-but-i-wasn-t-jumping-america-s/) [Jeremy Scahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scahill/) > [As a sports fan, the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup makes me feel very alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/five-for-fighting/as-a-sports-fan-the-los-angeles-kings-winning-the-stanley-cup-makes/) Five for Fighting > [Better the fragrant herb of wit and a little cream of affability than all the pretty cups in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/better-the-fragrant-herb-of-wit-and-a-little-cream-of-affability-than/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [The divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hernando-cortes/the-divine-drink-which-builds-up-resistance-and-fights-fatigue-a-cup/) [Hernando Cortes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hernando-cortes/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) > [In England you probably have too many cups with the Champions League as it is now. You have the FA Cup and another cup;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/in-england-you-probably-have-too-many-cups-with-the-champions-league/) [Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/) > [If you're at the sink washing the cup, wash the cup. Don't worry about everything else. ... We forget to appreciate the simplest moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/if-you-re-at-the-sink-washing-the-cup-wash-the-cup-don-t-worry-about/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Better go drunk and begging round the taverns. Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/how-much-more-of-the-mosque-of-prayer-and-fasting-better-go-drunk-and/) [Omar Khayyam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/) > [We put suffocation warnings on all the - on every piece of plastic film manufactured in the United States or for sale with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gever-tulley/we-put-suffocation-warnings-on-all-the-on-every-piece-of-plastic-film/) [Gever Tulley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gever-tulley/) > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [As for the (Ballon d'Or) criteria, I'm not really sure how it works. Sometimes it's a World Cup year, sometimes it isn't. Let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-villa/as-for-the-ballon-d-or-criteria-i-m-not-really-sure-how-it-works/) [David Villa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-villa/) Browse all 1,509 Cups quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edna St. Vincent Millay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a-flight-of-uncarpeted-stairs-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cups" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a-flight-of-uncarpeted-stairs-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_cups_life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a_3203929.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_cups_life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a_3203929.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc6/edna-st-vincent-millay-1291_cups_life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a_3203929.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life in itself Is nothing, An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edna St. Vincent Millay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life in itself Is nothing, An...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a-flight-of-uncarpeted-stairs-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/life-in-itself-is-nothing-an-empty-cup-a-flight-of-uncarpeted-stairs-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```